Example 2: Why America Is Not The Greatest Country But It Can Be

Everybody loves to say America is the greatest country in the world, but to what extent is that really true? Don’t get me wrong, I love this beautiful country, but right now we are not the greatest country in the world, we just have the ability to be. This speech I am about to share with you gives me the goosebumps every time and it shares the stats of America compared to the world, here is Will McAvoy’s speech from The Newsroom:

America is number 1 in the number of people incarcerated, proud? Solving problems like the war on drugs, can make America the best country in the world again.

First things first people, the drug problem must be clearly addressed. We need to accept that drugs are a huge problem, along with the fact that there will never be a drug free America. That’s where our country screwed this whole thing up at first. They started the “drug free America” campaign. To have commercials that expressed exaggerated side effects from drugs and say they were trying to create a drug free America. Let’s see where the people watching that commercial ended up:

In 2010, 38,329 died in the US from an overdose

1/3 of all HIV cases are caused by needles

Since November 1st, there have been over 185 heroin deaths in MA

60-70% of inmates test positive for substance abuse on arrest

The Department of Justice spent 6.5 billion on prisons alone last year

The United States spends around $40 billion a year trying to eliminate the drug supply

Missouri man Jeff Mizanskey is serving life in prison for marijuana possession

Our solution to this madness has only created more madness. Millions have been spent, time has been wasted, and lives have been lost. Many drug war related deaths could have been avoided. Rather it be a cop who was investigating a drug dealer and was shot, or just the everyday overdose. Less cops should been on the streets trying to bust people for marijuana. Obviously we need cops to help combat drug trafficking, but cops who were arresting people over marijuana blatantly waste their time. Here are some stats regarding the money our federal government could save along with how many people are getting arrested:

In 2012, 1.55 million people were arrested for non violent drug crimes… Only half convicted.

The population of American prisons tripled within 1980-2000

According to a Brown University study, at the rate people are being arrested, there will be more people arrested than out of jail by 2053

A study by RAND Corp states that every dollar spent on treatment saves seven dollars in judicial services

People doing heroin should be arrested, and America must improve their rehab facilities so these addicts can recover correctly and not call his dealer the second he gets out. Drug related crimes are ruining opportunities for people nationwide.

For example, a college kid gets arrested for smoking 1 joint. It is now on his record that he got arrested for possession. He then applies to a grocery store and applies for financial aid for the upcoming semester. The poor mush does not get the job and receives two thousand dollars less of financial aid than the previous semester. The mush can no longer afford to go to school because he has no job and not the correct amount of financial aid to pay for school. What does this mush do next? Starts collecting unemployment and using all the money he gets to get high. He then becomes an addict and goes into the jail system that does not seem to fix people, but only break people. America must start arresting the right people, and give them a better opportunity for a life, post rehabilitation.

An 18 year old from Illinois is doing 24 years in state prison for receiving six pounds of pot that his mom mailed him for California. His mom got six months probation

(Drug Arrest Trends in the US, 1990-2010) “There were 80% more arrests for drug possession or use in 2010 (1,336,530) than in 1990 (741,600). Between 1990 and its peak in 2006, the arrest rate for drug possession or use increased 75% (figure 37). The arrest rate declined between 2006 and 2010, ending in 2010 at 46% above its 1990 level and at a level similar to those seen between 1997 and 2002.”

(Drug Arrests in the US, 2010, by Age and Gender) “State and local law enforcement agencies made an estimated 1,336,500 arrests for drug possession or use in 2010. Females were 20% of these arrests. The median age in drug possession or use arrests was 26. Eleven percent of drug possession or use arrests in 2010 involved a juvenile, 18% involved persons age 40 or older, and 6% involved persons age 50 or older.”

The government is pumping money into the war on drugs. More people are getting arrested, but people are doing more drugs. People are dying and the United States are not fixing it. The strict laws and the lack of money spent on research, counseling, and care makes our spending look absurd when it comes to solving America’s drug problem. Young people are getting arrested for drugs and the rest of their life is ruined. The country needs to work on rehabbing the addicts, rather than digging them a deeper whole.